WAIS athletes contributed to Australia finishing third overall on points in kayaksbehind powerhouse countries Germany and Hungary at the third World Cup in Szeged in Hungary over the weekend in what was a great all round performance.
Reece Baker (Marmion) along with Chris Alagich (NTID), Chad Alston (SASI) and Matt Urquhart (QAS) were fifth in the final of the K4 1000m. Whilst the effort was not quite as good as the fifth place from the first World Cup, their is enough to suggest that this event is wide open for Worlds with any one of seven or eight crews probably considering themselves medal chances.
Alana Nicholls (Dianella) had a busy weekend finishing a very credible fifth in the K1 200m behind multiple World and Olympic Champion Natasha Janics from Hungary and only 0.2sec off silver. The encouraging aspect to this performance was Nicholls only 35 min earlier had competed in the semi final of the K2 500m which would have left more fatigued than her competitors who did not race this event. At Worlds Alana will have more time to rest between events.
In the K2 500m Nicholls and Lisa Russ(Hilton) were disappointed in missing out on the final coming second in the B final whilst the other Australian crew of Hannah Davis and Lynsdsie Fogarty were sixth in the final. This result effectively rules them out of this event for Worlds, however the final decision on the crew is yet to be made and there is a possibility Nicholls or Russ may partner with Davis.
The K4 500m crew combining these four paddlers were fourth in the final 0.5 sec off second, a credible result however, settling too much in the middle of the race, probably cost the crew a higher place finish.
Jesse Phillips (Nollamara) combined with SASI speed demon Matt Goble to finish fifth in the K2 200m with 30 – 40 cm separating the top six or seven crews.
The final team for the World Championships in Canada is will be named shortly.
Daniel Bowker (Kingsley) left for Europe over the weekend where he will be representing Australia in U23 regattas in Germany and Poland.
